Trump administration’s misinformation vs WHO’s information
U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said that the WHO was responsible for "the Americans who died alone in nursing homes (and) the small businesses that were destroyed by reckless mandates" to wear masks and get vaccinated against COVID-19.
According to a study conducted in the first half of 2020, Donald Trump's name was mentioned in 37.9% of articles that contained false information about COVID-19, and "Donald Trump was likely the largest driver of the COVID-19 misinformation.” (1) Some Republicans preferred to follow Trump’s misinformation rather than the WHO’s recommendations on protective measures and vaccination. For example, 51% of Republicans believed that hydroxychloroquine was an effective treatment (vs 8% of Democrats) and 36% thought that wearing a mask was harmful to one’s health (vs 7% of the Democrats). (2)
The excess death rate due to COVID-19 up to December 2021 was 43% higher among Republican voters than among Democratic voters. (3)
References:
(1) S. Evanega, M. Lynas, J. Adams, and K. Smolenyak, Coronavirus misinformation: Quantifying sources and themes in the COVID-19 “infodemic”. 2020. Cornell Alliance for Science, Cornell University
(2) E. Hamel, A. Montero, M. Brodie; The Public and Health (Mis)information: What Polling Tells Us About Where We Have Been and Where We Might Be Going. J Health Polit Policy Law 1 December 2025; 50 (6): 1081–1103. doi: https://doi.org/10.1215/03616878-11995152
(3) J. Wallace, P. Goldsmith-Pinkham, J.L. Schwartz, Excess Death Rates for Republican and Democratic Registered Voters in Florida and Ohio During the COVID-19 Pandemic, JAMA Intern Med, 2023 Sep 1;183(9):916-923. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2023.1154
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HIFA profile: Bernard Seytre is a Consultant at BNSCommunication in France. Professional interests: Health communication and education. seytre AT bnscom.fr